SURF
Occupation: Professional surfer
Date of birth: May 1
Hometown: Kona, Hawaii
Current residence: Orange County, Calif.
Sponsors: etnies Girl, Oakley, Lost Surfboards
Leilani Gryde is among the new generation of young surfers taking the women’s professional surfing circuit by storm. Born and raised in Kona, Hawaii, and now based out of Southern California, “Lei Lei” or “Grommet,” as she is affectionately called, started shortboard surfing at the tender age of 11 years old while attending YMCA summer camp. From there, she started competing in NSSA regional and national events, as well as local surfing competitions.
In 2002, Leilani attained her first major accomplishment by becoming the NSSA National Champion, and she remained on the NSSA circuit for the next few years. She then began following the ASP WQS tour, ranking in the top 20 her first year on the tour in 2004, as well as for the past two years. We expect it won’t be long before Leilani will be added to the WCT, and we look forward to seeing her kill it!
Leilani’s other interests include sleeping, eating, hanging out with her friends and, on the rare but lucky occasion, going home to Hawaii for a little R & R. The WQS circuit and other surf trips keep her incredibly busy, and in the past year Leilani has traveled to Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa, Costa Rica, Florida, as well as many other places across the globe. Rough life? Must be.
In 2007, Leilani will be following the WQS tour again, trying to make the WCT for 2008. Leilani would like to add, “Watch out, I’m awesome.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
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